Beverage storing and dispensing system



0ct. 25, 1949. yw. R. KRQMER v BEVERAGE STOHING AND DISPENSING SYSTEM Filed April 1e, 1947 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 n Il :4.13,

llllllllllllllllll llllllllzllll nmnmmuulnumm un slllllllllllllllll llllll mm NVENTOR. Wallace R. Krjovner BY ATTORNEY? cto 25, 1949. w. R. KROMER 2,485,610

BEVERAGE STORING AND DISPENSING SYSTEM Filed April 16, 1947 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 NVENTR. Wallace R. Krohr AT T RNE S Oct 259 1949. w. R, KROMER BEVERAGE STORING AND DISPENSING SYSTEM 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed April 16, 1947 `1 INVENTOR.v Wallace R. Kramer ATTORN s Patented Oct. 25, 1949 BEVERAGE STGRING SYSTE AND DISPENSING M Wallace R. Kromer, Cleveland Heights, Ohio, assignor to Superflow Manufacturing Corporation, Cleveland, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Application April 16, 1947, Serial No. 741,827

2 Claims.

This invention relates to apparatus for storing, .cooling and dispensing beverage and has particular reference to apparatus of such character for use in yconnection with gas-charged beverages 'auch as beer, ale and the like.

Beverages containing gas that is brewed or charged into the liquid are customarily stored and `served .in a chilled or cooled condition. In the Case of beer, ale and the like, the cooling not only makes the beverage more palatable and tasty but retards undesirable fermentation and similar organ-ic action that would ultimately resultin spoilage vof the beverage. It is desirable that the beverage `not only be cool when served, but that it be maintained in a chilled condition within a predetermined temperature range from the time that brewing thereof is finished until it is served to the consumer. This is especially true in the case of so-called draft beer which is packaged at vthe brewery in kegs or barrels and isso delivered to the tavern or .bar for dispensing purposes.

Taverns, bars and similar establishments handling large quantities of draft beer frequently provide cold storage rooms in which the kegs or containers of .beverage are kept. In some arrangements the kegs are tapped by inserting therein the usual tap rod connected to a tubular -line or beverage conduit which'extends to a remotely located faucet or tap which may be mounted in a dispensing bar. In such case the keg or container remains in the cold storage room all the time it is n tap.

Beverage dispensing installations have also been made in which the beverage lines or conduits extending from the cold storage room to the dispensing bar or counter are enclosed in a sheath or conduit through which is circulated a coolant such as brine or ice water so as to retain the beverage lines within the desired temperature limits and to prevent the beer or other beverage from 'becoming warm in its travel from the cold storage room to the dispensing faucet or tap. Installations of this character as heretofore constructed are frequently quite costly and beyond the means of bar or tavern keepers operating on a Vrelatively small scale. Substitute arrangements aimed at merely lowering the cost of the installation have not been entirely satisfactory because of lack of flexibility in application and lack of capacity coupled with excessive bulk or installation problems.

'In the merchandising of beer products, package v'unit 'dispensing equipment for use in bars and tavems relieves the merchant of the risk of losing a large capital outlay should he change location. Similarly, an equipment dealer avoids the financial risk of making elaborate installations in new and untried taverns and bars where the labor cost of installation may be high and where the salvage Value of the equipment upon removal undergoes a large depreciation.

It is therefore the principal object of the present invention to provide a generally improved apparatus for use in combination with a cold storage room for the purpose of storing and cooling beverage and the like, which apparatus is capable .of being readily installed in a conventionally arranged beverage dispensing establishrnent, and which lcan be quickly and easily dismantled and removed with a minimum of damage or injury to the equipment and to the property at the site. Among the improvements obtained are a unit or package containing refrigerating or heat exchanging apparatus that is mountable on or against 4one of the walls of a cold storage room and is provided with means for refrigerating beverage lines which extend from the top rods of containers or kegs on the inside of the cold storage room to the faucets of a dispensing bar remotely located on the outside of the cold' storage room.

The refrigerating equipment, whichl may be installed as a package unit, lincludes a plurality of evaporators served by a single refrigerant compressor, kone of the evaporators being used to refrigerate a liquid coolant which is circulated around the beverage lines to maintain the latter within the desired temperature range and another being used to cool the atmosphere of the cold storage room. Installations utilizing more than one conduit for enclosing the beverage lines are so arranged that a separate cooling liquid circuit is provided for each of the coolant conduits so that the circulation of one is independent of the other. In one embodiment of the invention arrangement is provided for driving of the coolant circulators for several coolant conduit circuits and also the air circulating fan for the cold storage room from a single motor, thereby simplifying and reducing the cost of the installation while yet Amaintaining separate circuits for the lseveral cooling liquid conduits and a separate evaporator for the air cooling system.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent from the following detailed description 'of suitable embodiments of the invention made in connection with the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof and in which:

Figure 1 is a schematic drawing with parts broken away and removed, illustrating a. beverage Y storing, cooling and dispensing installationy con! showing the package refrigerating unit of Fig. 1;

this View being taken substantially on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1 and enlarged with respect to that ligure;

Fig. 4 is a diagrammatic layout, with parts broken away or removed, showing the connections of the conduits, lines and tubes of the beverage storing, cooling and dispensing apparatus of the previous figures;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary elevational View, partly in section and with parts broken away or removed, showing a modication of the invention in which a single motor is utilized to drive the liquid coolant circulators and the air-circulating fan; this view shows equipment that corresponds to that illustrated in the upper half of Fig. 2 and is enlarged with respect to that figure; and

Fig. 6 is a side elevational view with parts broken away or removed, showing the apparatus of Fig. 5.

The present invention is found to reside in certain novel combinations and arrangements of parts, all of which will appear in the course of the description in which numerals of reference are used to indicate like parts throughout the several views.

In Fig. 1 a beverage storing, cooling and dispensing installation is diagrammatically illustrated wherein a number of kegs, barrels or similar containers I are kept in a cold storage cabinet or room 2 having upright insulated walls, one ofA which is indicated at 3. This cold storage room may be conveniently located in the cellar or basement of a tavern or bar so that the iloor 4 of the establishment forms the ceiling of the cold storage room. 'I'his ceiling may also be insulated to reduce heat flow into the cold storage room. At a point remote from the cold storage room 2, as for example on the floor 4 of the tavern or bar, is located a dispensing counter or bar 5. This counter is of `conventional construction and has mounted thereon a number of taps or faucets 6, each of which is connected to one of the beverage kegs or containers I by means of a conventional tubular beverage line or conduit. The beverage lines or conduits may be of the usual block tin construction which are attached at their upper ends to the faucet assemblies 6 by the customary compression fittings. The lower ends of the beverage lines are connected by compression fittings to the upper ends of tap rods 1 which extend through compression packings attached to the top bungholes of the kegs I and down into the bottom of the kegs. Shut-01T valves 8 may be provided for each of the tap rods 'I so that the rods may be inserted in the kegs or beverage containers before they are attached to the beverage lines.

In the present installation 4 beverage lines or conduits are shown and are indicated by the numerals 9, I0, II and I2. A greater or lesser number may be provided in accordance with the requirements of the particular installation being made.. The insulated walls of the cold storage room 2 completely enclose the room so that air therein can be maintained within a desired temperature range suitable for storing beer, ale and similar beverages.

The cooling of the room 2 is accomplished by a refrigerating mechanism contained in a package unlt indicated generally at I5. This unit includes a supporting frame-work or structure which is mounted upon or disposed against the outside of wall 3 of the cold storage room and includes a portion-'which extends partly into the interior of the cold storage room through a suitable opening I4 formed in the wall 3.

The package refrigerating unit frame-work is formed of angle iron bars or similar structural pieces, this frame-work being shown in Figs. 2 and 3. In Fig. l is illustrated how the framework is enclosed about its sides and the top outside the cold storage room by at cover pieces which may be made of sheet metal, plywood or other suitable paneling material. The cover panels are removably applied to the frame-work and suitable openings are provided therein for the various conduits, tubes, and pipes as required. The unit is open at the bottom and louvers are formed in the side panels for circulation of air over the refrigerant condenser, as will later appear. y'Ihe cover panels are omitted from the remaining figures so as to more clearly show the interior arrangements of the parts within the package unit or cabinet.

The structural frame of the refrigerating package unit is formed with a lateral extension or portion I6 which reaches into and is disposed partially on the inside of the cold storage room, the main or larger portion of the unit being disposed outsde of the cold storage room. The frame of the lateral extension is made to rest upon the lower edge or sill of the opening I4 in the wall 3 so as to be supported thereby, and the unit is held in place by screws, wall anchors or toggle bolts that extend through the upright elements of the frame and are secured in the wall 3. The unit I5 may of course be supported on the oor or on a stand outside the wall 3 of the lcold storage room. It is preferable, however, to have the unit at a relatively high elevation so that the laterally extending portion I6 of the unit which is disposed within the cold storage room is at or near the ceiling of the room.

Cozolant conduits l'I and it surround and embrace the beverage lines over the runs or courses of the latter betweenl the cold storage room 2 and the bar or dispensing counter 5. These tubular conduits may be metal pipes, plastic material, or they may be flexible and correspond. to the tubular conductor 83r shown in my prior Patent 2,339,082. The conduits I'I and i8 mayl be provided with a suitable insulating shell or coating to reduce the absorption of heat thereby and to prevent the condensation of moisture thereon which is commonly referred to as'y sweating y j The beverage lines 9 and Il) extend throughl the refrigerating conduit Il while the beverage lines II and I2 extend through the conduit i8. If desired, all of the beverage lines may be dis'-, posed in a single cooling liquid conduit, or larger number of cooling liquid conduits may be, employed. Certain advantages are obtainedby, having more than one of the cooling liquid con'- duits, since the dispensing taps or faucets may then be more widely separated from one another, if desired, or they may veven be mounted inbars or', counters located in different rooms of the tavern or inn. The upper or outerendof each of the cool- `ing 4liquid conduits I.1 and 'I8 isssealed'by a closure I9 `(Fig. 4) provided withsuitabl'e packing glands (not shown) through which pass the `beverage lines 9, I0, H :and .I.2. The 'lower or Iinner ends lof the cooling liquid conduits extend through the larger or outer portion lof the refrigerating unit I5, through the opening I4 in the wall 3 and into .the inner or smaller portion I6 of the refrigerating unit. The 'lower or inner ends yof the cooling liquid conduits are 'tted ywith junction or 'terminal boxes 20 having covered plates 2| through which extend the beverage lines or conduits. Packing glands 22 in the cover plates 2| `sealingly embrace the beverage lines 'to tprevent the loss of cooling liquid from the conduits .I1 and I8.' Inside the junction box the beverage lines `are each formed with separable couplings .to facilitate assembly and servicing.

Located in the upper half of the main lor'outer portion of the refrigerating unit is a refrigerant evaporator or heat exchanger 24. This evaporator is'of the boil-off typeand is illustrated diagrammatically fin Fig. 4. A metal casing or shell 25 is hermetically sealed to receive liquid refrigerant through a supply conduit 26 and under the control of an inlet valve 21. This -valve :admits liquid refrigerant in response to the movement of an annular float "28 which surrounds the valve 21 within the evaporator to maintain a substantial constant level of refrigerant within the evaporator shell 25. The heat exchanger 24 may be of the type shown in U. S. Letters Patent No. 1,985,785, the yvalve 21 and the float 28 of the present case functioning in the manner of the corresponding parts of the refrigerating apparatus disclosed in the prior patent. Gaseous refrigerant is withdrawn from the interior of the evaporator shell 25 through anoutlet conduit 29 which extends to the intake of a compressor 30. The compressor, located in the lower half of the outer portion of the unit, 'is 'driven by van electric motor 3| which operates in response to a pressure switch 32 interposed in the gaseous refrigerant or suction line 29 to maintain a predetermined Jgaseous pressure within the evaporator 24.

Refrigerant -discharged from the compressor 30 is carried by conduit 33 to a condenser 34, also in thelower half of the -outer portion -of lthe unit, and liquid refrigerant from the condenser is received in a storage receptacle 35. A metering valve '36 is -interposed in the supply conduit 26 to control the Vflow of liquid refrigerant to the evaporators so that the refrigerant is introduced into the evaporator at a constant Ipredetermined pressure. By this arrangement the liquid refrigerant in the heat exchanger or evaporator 24 is maintained at a constant temperature and heat introduced therein serves to boil off the liquid refrigerant which thus absorbs and carries away the heat through the outlet conduit 29.

Supported in the shell 25 of the heat exchanger are a pair of cooling liquid coils 38 and 39 which may be concentrically arranged as illustrated. 'I'he outlet ends of the cooling coils are connected by conduits 30 to the inlets of liquid circulators or pumps 4I and 42 each driven continuously and independently of the other by one of the electric motors 43. The outlets of the pumps 4| and 42 are connected by conduits 45 which extend through the terminal boxes to the ends of feeder conduits I1 and I8. The remote ends of the feeder conduits 46 terminate of the flow of beverage.

adjacentlthe end closures I3 of the .cooling liquid conduits so that refrigerating liquid or Vwater drawn from l.the coils 38 and 39 in the heat exchanger "24 is forced by the pumps 4I and 42 yto flow into and through the feeder conduits 45 tothe remote ends of the cooling liquid conduits 'I1 land "I8 where the coolant is discharged into the latter. Thus the circulating coolant is introduced into the body of coolant surrounding the top or faucet vend of the beverage lines and flows back through the cooling liquid conduits over the `beverage lines in a reverse direction to that By this arrangement the controlled temperature cooling liquid is brought linto heat exchanging relation to the beverage lines adjacent to the dispensing ends of the latter so that the temperature at 'which the beverage is dispensed for consumption may be `more closely controlled and kept within the desired limits.

Cooling .liquid flowing back through the cooling yliquid conduits I1 and I8 on the outside of the feeder conduits 45 enters the junction or terminal boxes 20 and is withdrawn therefrom through oulet conduits 41. These outlet conduits are connected to the inlet ends Aof the refiigerating coils 38 and 39 of the heat exchanger 2 Located in the small or extension portion I6 of the refrigerator unit, the left-hand end as viewed in Fig. l, and at one side of the junction or terminal boxes 2li of the cooling liquid conduits is a refrigerant evaporator or heat exchanger 48 (Fig. 3) of the iin type. The inner end wall of the cabinet is open and the under side of the eX- tension portion le is also open to the air of the refrigerating room Z so that such air may circulate through the extension portion of the refrigerating unit and be cooled as it passes through the openings in the evaporator 48.

Supported by brackets 49 secured to the heat exchanger or evaporator 43 is an electric motor 50 the shaft of which drives a fan or blower 5I. This fan draws air up through the open bottom of the extension portion It of the cabinet and forces it through the fins of the evaporator 48 and out through the open end of the cabinet extension portion I6. An internal partition indicated at 53 (Fig. 4) in the refrigerating unit I5 prevents the flow of air into and out of the cold storage room 2 through the opening I4 in the Wall 3. The partition 53 may be located so as to lie approximately in the plane of the wall 3 or it may be arranged horizontally or obliquely in the outer or larger portion of thecabinet of the refrigerating unit.

In the bottom of the outer portion of the refrigerating unit I5 are openings or louvers 54 (Fig. l) for the circulation of air to cool the condenser 34. The partition 53 is so arranged as to separate that portion of the refrigerating unit that contains the compressor 30, condenser 34 and related parts from the evaporator 48. The partition preferably is of insulating material. When located in the plane of the wall 3 the partition 53 is formed with suitable openings through which pass the cooling liquid conduits I1 and I8 and the cooling liquid supply and return conduits 45 and 41.

Liquid refrigerant is supplied to the evaporator or heat exchanger 48, which may be of the boiloff type, by an extension of the refrigerant supply conduit 26. Gaseous refrigerant is withdrawn from the evaporator by an extension of the outlet or refrigerant return conduit '29 previously mentioned.

The electric motor 50 which drives the air circulating fan I may be operated continuously or its operation may be controlled by a switch indicated at 55 (Fig. 4) responsive to the temperature in the cold storage room 2. Suchswitch is arranged to energize the fan motor when the air in the cold storage room is raised above a predetermined temperature and to de-energize the motor when air passing through the heat exchanger 38 falls below a predetermined temperature.

In Figs. 5 and 6 is illustrated a modigcatgm of the invention in which the liquid coolani'fconduits l1 and I8 previously identified are replaced by conduits made of an inner flexible tube of rubber or plastic indicated at 56 which is impervious to the ice water or brine used as a liquid coolant and which is flexible to permit it to be' bent during installation. One of the tubes 56 receives the beverage lines 9 and I9 and one of the liquid coolant feeder tubes 46, while the other conduit 56 receives the beverage lines ll-and l2 and the other liquid coolant feeder tube 46. Space between the beverage lines and heat exchanging tubes in each of the conduits 56 receives the liquid coolant which is circulated by the pumps 4I and 42. Around the flexible rubber or plastic tube 56 is wrapped an insulating coat or sheath 5l which reduces the iiow of heat into the cooling liquid tubes. A sheet metal cover 58 is placed about the insulating wrapping of each of the tubes. This insulated construction reduces the heat absorption of the system and the sheet metal covers 58 protect the cooling liquid conduits against damage and injury.

In this embodiment of the invention the shaft of the fan drive motor 59 is provided with an extension that receives a pulley or sheave 59. This pulley drives a belt 69 which is also trained around sheaves 6| and 62 secured on the shafts of the pumps 4| and 42 respectively. This arrangement eliminates the electric motors 43 for driving the current circulating pumps, and a single motor which in this case is operating continuously serves to circulate the air in the cold storage room 2 and to circulate the liquid coolant in the cooling liquid conduits that embrace the beverage lines.

The principles of the present invention may be utilized in various ways, modications and alterations being contemplated, substitution of parts and changes in construction being resorted to as desired, it being understood that the embodiments shown in the drawings and described above are given merely for purposes of explanation and illustration without intending to limit the scope of the claims to the specific details disclosed.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a beverage storing and dispensing system of the type having a dispensing bar and a Walled storage room remotev from the bar With beverage containers in the storage room and beverage lines extending through an opening in one of the vwalls of the room and connecting the containers to the bar, the improvement which comprises the combination of a conduit for enclosing the beverage lines and a refrigerating device for cooling the room-and the lines, said device including a cabinet structure adapted to be mounted on the outside of the storage room over the opening in the wall thereof to serve as a closure for such opening and the line enclosing conduit extending into the cabinet, means in the cabinet for circulating a liquid coolant through the conduit, passage means in the cabinet for circulating air through the same from the room, and means in the cabinet for refrigerating the circulating liquid coolant and the circulating air.

2. In a beverage storing and dispensing system of the type having a dispensing bar and a walled storage room remote from the bar with beverage containers in the storage room and beverage lines extending through an opening in one of the Walls of the room and connecting the containers to the bar, the improvement which comprises the combination of a conduit for enclosing the beverage lines and a refrigerating device for cooling the room and the lines, said device including a cabinet structure adapted to be mounted on the outside of the storage room over the opening in the Wall Athereof to ser-ve as a closure for such opening and the line enclosing conduit eX- tending into and terminating within the cabinet, means in the cabinet for circulating a liquid coolant through the conduit passage means in the cabinet and for circulating air through the same from the room, and means in the cabinet for refrigerating the circulating liquid coolant and the circulating air.

WALLACE R. KROMER.

leilrlsniiuonsy C ITED The following references areof record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

